__http://www.fs.fed.us/gpnf/volcanocams/msh/__
__http://www.olywa.net/radu/valerie/StHelens.html__ Hi, it’s Pearl! This is my disasters report on Mt. St. Helens! Enjoy


On may the 18th, 1980, south west of Washington State, Mt. St. Helens, erupted for the second time killing loggers, sightseers and scientists and changing thousands of lives forever.

Before the eruption, there had been a series of earthquakes and steaming vent incidents happening all around the volcano. The Mt. St. Helens was
the deadliest and most economically destructive eruption in the U.S history. 57 people were tragically killed. 250 homes, 47 bridges and 24 km of railways were destroyed. The eruption caused the mountain to shrink from 2,950m to 2,550m!

A man named Harry Truman lived with his 16 cats in a peaceful lodge on the north side of the Mt. St. Helens. When the mountain awoke, Harry and his 16 cats refused to leave. Saturday, may 17, 1980, the state officials tried for what turned out to be the last time to get Harry to leave. He would not go. Early the next morning, Mount St. Helens exploded. Harry, the lodge and all 16 of his cats were covered in 50m of debris. Sadly, no trace was ever found of Harry and his cats.

The once beautiful forest was destroyed but now, years later, the forest is slowly healing.